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Occupational Regulation, Institutions, and Migrants' Labor Market Outcomes

Author

Listed:
  • Maria Koumenta

    (Queen Mary, University of London)

  • Mario Pagliero

    (University of Turin, Collegio Carlo Alberto, CEPR)

  • Davud Rostam-Afschar

    (University of Mannheim, University of Hohenheim)

Abstract

We study how licensing, certification and unionisation affect the wages of natives and migrants and their representation among licensed, certified, and unionized workers. We provide evidence of a dual role of labor market institutions, which both screen workers based on unobservable characteristics and also provide them with wage setting power. Labor market institutions confer significant wage premia to native workers (3.9, 1.6, and 2.7 log points for licensing, certification, and unionization respectively), due to screening and wage setting power. Wage premia are significantly larger for licensed and certified migrants (10.2 and 6.6 log points), reflecting a more intense screening of migrant than native workers. The representation of migrants among licensed (but not certified or unionized) workers is 14% lower than that of natives. This implies a more intense screening of migrants by licensing institutions than by certification and unionization.

Suggested Citation

  • Maria Koumenta & Mario Pagliero & Davud Rostam-Afschar, 2022. "Occupational Regulation, Institutions, and Migrants' Labor Market Outcomes," Working Papers 606, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    • Handle: RePEc:inq:inqwps:ecineq2022-606
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    3. Veronika Lukesch & Thomas Zwick, 2024. "Do outside options drive wage inequalities in retained jobs? Evidence from a natural experiment," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 62(1), pages 127-153, March.
    4. Anger, Silke & Bassetto, Jacopo & Sandner, Malte, 2024. "Lifting Barriers to Skill Transferability: Immigrant Integration through Occupational Recognition," IZA Discussion Papers 17444, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Mengjie Lyu & Tingting Zhang & Hua Ye, 2023. "Labour market impacts of occupational licensing and delicensing: New evidence from China," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 61(4), pages 895-921, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Occupational regulation; Licensing; Certification; Unionization; Migration; Wages;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J44 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Professional Labor Markets and Occupations
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

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